July 27, 2017

Udall, Heinrich slam ‘skinny repeal’ effort

Ahead of another health care vote in the Senate, which came today after multiple Republican plans failed earlier in the week, New Mexico’s U.S. Senators took to the chamber’s floor for the debate.

Sen. Tom Udall described the chaotic healthcare process as “healthcare roulette” with leadership deciding what version of a health care bill to vote on by the bounce of a ball.

“Not even Republicans know what proposal is coming next and the American people certainly don’t know what’s coming,” Udall said.

From what Udall knows of the latest plan, dubbed the “skinny repeal” effort, he said it would kick millions off of insurance rolls while raising premiums for those who still have insurance by 20 percent.

Sen. Martin Heinrich also was critical of the “skinny repeal,” and the congressional process.

“Now stuck without a path forward, their latest idea is to pass a small back-room deal before the end of the day that no one has seen yet,” he said.

Heinrich said the stutter step push to repeal the bill, a priority of congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, showed the futility of the effort.

“Repealing the law made for great bumper stickers, great campaign promises,” Heinrich said.

He said the Republicans’ actions, including their lack of a plan, showed the opposition to the Affordable Care Act is “more about politics than it ever was about actual policy.”

Udall said he found just one consistency in the Republican efforts to repeal the nation’s health care plan: .

“Every bill is consistent that it cuts care for millions of Americans.”

Udall also said he received 14,500 calls, emails and letters calling on him to reject the Republican plans. He said that was “an unprecedented number from the small state of New Mexico.”

Heinrich said he heard from “literally thousands of New Mexicans who have told me how important their health care coverage is for them and their family.”

No Democrat has voted for any of the health care changes so far. Tuesday, Senators voted on the motion to proceed, which allowed them to begin debate on the repeal and replacement of the ACA. Two Republicans voted against that effort, leaving a 50-50 vote. Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie.

Since then, efforts including a straight repeal of the ACA failed with all Democrats voting against and joined by enough Republicans to sink the efforts.

The vote on skinny repeal could happen as early as Thursday afternoon. If that bill fails, it’s not clear what Republicans will do next.

If something does pass the Senate, it would need to go back to the House of Representatives, for either a concurrence vote of a conference committee. A conference committee would have the House and Senate come to a compromise. Heinrich referred to that possibility as negotiating with the “tea party” and “Freedom Caucus.”

Udall remarked on Trump’s lack of involvement on the specifics of any repeal effort, saying the president “stands to one side while not caring one whit” what a health care bill will look like.

Related

More About

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat, entering his sixth term in office, was unanimously elected the Assistant Democratic Leader for the next Congress. In a statement, Luján said he was “honored” to be selected for that position, which makes him the number four Democrat in the House.

Among the first things Democrats did after officially taking control of the House was to express support for efforts to appeal a Texas district court decision declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.

State Rep. Bobby Gonzales shook his head from side to side after listening to all the suggestions about how to meet a judge's order to provide more resources to New Mexico children who, in the court's view, are not receiving a good public education. "About 15 different ideas," the Democrat from Taos said following a hearing on the topic last week in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

Among the first things Democrats did after officially taking control of the House was to express support for efforts to appeal a Texas district court decision declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.

New Mexico U.S. Sen. Tom Udall spent about an hour Saturday morning listening to members of tribal communities and health care experts talk about what matters most in some rural areas regarding health care. A common theme emerged among participants: the need for more funding for tribal health care programs. If they don’t get more money, the people who rely on them are in trouble, they said.

Gov. Susana Martinez left office with low approval ratings, according to Morning Consult.
Meanwhile, both of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators’ approval ratings remained over 40 percent, with a high amount of voters with no opinion. The pollster found Martinez’s approval rating among all registered voters in her final three months in office was just 35 percent, while 49 percent disapproved of the Republican’s job performance.

State Rep. Bobby Gonzales shook his head from side to side after listening to all the suggestions about how to meet a judge's order to provide more resources to New Mexico children who, in the court's view, are not receiving a good public education.

Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.
Matthew has appeared as a panelist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ New Mexico Chapter’s panel on covering New Mexico politics and the legislature.
A native New Mexican from Rio Rancho, Matthew’s family has been in New Mexico since the 1600s.